Mario Batali: Why Did He Buy 200 Pairs Of Orange Crocs?

Mario Batali, the celebrity chef, restaurateur, and Italian food expert, just bought 200 pairs of bright orange Crocs. Why did he do it?

Well, for starters, Batali did not buy the 400 shoes on a whim; according to all reports he “isn’t like that.” The thing is that Batali and the bright orange shoe have become synonymous with each other as the shoe he chooses to wear almost all the time.

Following the earth shattering announcement from Crocs that they were discontinuing the orange variety, Mario Batali did what any shoe enthusiast would do; he bought as many pairs as he could!

In a recent interview with Details magazine, Batali said that he already owned 30 pairs of orange Crocs, but when he heard that the company would stop the production of his favorite footwear, he made a “special order” for the 200 pairs.

Batali’s love affair with orange Crocs all started in New York back in 1993. That was the year he received his first pair from his wife as a gift when he opened his first restaurant. Following his receipt of that gift, Batali said about Crocs: “It was obvious that they had built them for me. And I’ve stuck with them and I’m a big fan of the Croc look and the way that it shames most of my friends in the fashion world.”

So what’s the reason for the obsession with orange? Mario Batali revealed that orange is the “Batali family national color.”

He continued: “My children started wearing orange and yellow coats so we could identify them in a sea because there is nothing more frightening than not being able to find your children, especially young ones who could easily wander out into the street, or whatever could happen to them in New York City. We could say, “Oh there they are! Orange and yellow right there!”

It seems that the Crocs bosses feel kinda bad for Mario Batali and confirmed that even though the bright orange shoes will be discontinued, they will still make Crocs in a duller shade of orange. What will Mario Batali make of them though?